Early Stuart England

Episode 2.111: Conclusion

11 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Wherein the podcast, like the English Republic, disappears from history.

Episode 2.110: The Return of the King

04 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Spring 1660After a long exile, the rightful King returns, to restore the line of his ancestors.

Episode 2.109: A Free Parliament

28 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

January 1660A broad movement for a free parliament unites royalists, Presbyterians, the apprentices of London, and the only coherent army left in Engl...

Episode 2.108: The Second Restoration of the Rump

21 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

December 1659Assailed on multiple fronts, the Committee of Safety simply dissolves. Without any other immediate options, England (for the third time)...

Episode 2.107: As Hot as They Can Suffer It

14 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

1659As the Committee of Safety struggles to establish itself as England's new government, London falls under the sway of different ruler - coffee.

Episode: 2.106 - Dangerous to the Commonwealth

07 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

1659Army officers and the Rump squabble over the remains of the increasingly irrelevant Commonwealth state

Episode 2.105: Booth's Uprising

30 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Summer 1659The new regime at Westminster is briefly united by the most dangerous royalist insurgency parliament has yet faced.

Episode 2.104: The Rump Resurrected

23 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

1659Having run out of ideas, England once again turns to the men of the Rump parliament, who Oliver Cromwell had banished from Westminster six years e...

Episode 2.103: The Young Gentleman

16 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Fall 1658With the death of Oliver Cromwell, the Protectorate seeks stability under a new, untested Lord Protector.

Episode 2.102: The Northern Theatre

09 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

1658Just when Cromwell completes his dream of securing Dunkirk, England is drawn into a new war in Scandinavia.

Episode 2.101: The Other House

02 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

January 1658Oliver Cromwell (who is the Lord Protector, definitely not the King) seeks to control the House of Commons through the new "Other House" (...

Episode 2.100: Normalcy Amid Revolution

26 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

1657Outside of London and Westminster, the people of England adapt to a new normal.

Episode 2.99: The Non-Alliance Revisited

19 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

1657Thirty years after the Duke of Buckingham's French alliance failed in spectacular fashion, Oliver Cromwell and the Protectorate once again outdo t...

Episode 2.98: A Crown Rejected

12 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

1657Rival Cromwellian factions in parliament (who had disagreed on just about everything so far) once again split on a final question - whether to mak...

Episode 2.97: Shake All Foundations

05 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

1657The Second Protectorate Parliament gathers, but rather than heeding Cromwell's call to confirm the existing constitution, the men at Westminster r...

Episode 2.96: A Wicked Spirit Risen Amongst Friends

26 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

1656A new radical religious group (the Quakers) suffers an internal power struggle, which threatens to de-stabilize the new parliament gathering at We...

Episode 2.95: The Colour of Your Detestable Practices

19 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

1656It's election season for the Second Protectorate Parliament, and English voters use the opportunity to contemplate the meaning of republicanism, a...

Episode 2.94: Spanish Gold

12 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

1656England once again makes the capture of a Spanish treasure fleet the centre-piece of their war strategy. Only this time, it works!

Episode 2.93: The Sceptical Chymist

05 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

1656While Oliver Cromwell and his friends re-make the English state, a collection of eccentric academics and amateur enthusiasts re-make the field of ...

Episode: 2.92 - The Hope of Israel

29 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

1656The Lord Protector, an Amsterdam Rabbi, and a merchant in the underground Jewish community of London seek to reverse a 350 year old ban on Jews in...

Episode 2.91: The Younger Cromwell

22 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

1655Oliver Cromwell sends his son Henry to Ireland, for an apprenticeship in ruling a nation.

Episode 2.90: The Major-Generals

15 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

1655Stymied by traditional institutions like parliament, the Protectorate turns to the army to extend its rule into the provinces.

Episode 2.89: The Western Design Part 2

08 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

1655The New Model Army finds waging war on the other side of the world, and with little local intelligence, is harder than it looks.

Episode 2.88: The Western Design Part 1

01 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

1654-5The Protectorate state draws up plans for the most ambitious amphibious campaign in English history, and the first step in conquering a global e...

Episode 2.87: The Sealed Knot

25 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Spring 1655An underground network of royalists seek to take advantage of instability within the Protectorate regime, but find that they are hampered b...

Episode 2.86: The Protectorate Parliament

18 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Fall 1654Lord Protector Cromwell opens his first parliament, and soon discovers what James or Charles could have told him - that managing the men at W...

Episode 2.85: Opinions Derogatory to God

11 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Now Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell is forced to finally make some concrete decisions about England's spiritual life. Perhaps unsurprisingly, his cho...

Episode 2.84: The Imperial Turn

04 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

1654Having seized control of the state, Cromwell immediately ends the war with the Dutch, and adopts a much more conventional foreign policy.

Episode 2.83: The Instrument of Government

27 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

December 1653John Lambert, after orchestrating the demise of the latest attempt at a political settlement (the Nominated Assembly), produces his own s...

Episode 2.82: The Nominated Assembly

20 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

1653With the Rump hastily dissolved, England turns to an ad hoc assembly to craft a new political order.

Episode 2.81: French Roundheads

13 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

1654As social unrest in France takes a revolutionary turn, England sends out feelers to potential republican comrades.

Episode 2.80: Commonwealth Scotland

06 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

1652-3With England distracted by the Dutch War, and turmoil at Westminster, a group of soldiers and administrators are left to determine Scotland's fu...

Episode 2.79: An End to Your Sitting

30 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Spring 1653A long stand-off culminates in the forced dissolution of the Long Parliament, twelve and a half years after its initial elections.

Episode 2.78: Impatience of Spirit

23 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

1652-3Oliver Cromwell struggles to hold the disparate elements of the Commonwealth coalition together, but the mounting pressure seems to make a break...

Episode 2.77: Adventurers and Soldiers

16 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

1652Having pacified all organized resistance in Ireland, the Puritan Commonwealth regime contemplates how to rule a pre-dominantly Catholic nation.

Episode 2.76: The Anglo-Dutch War

09 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

1652The republics of England and the Netherlands test each other in battle, and in doing so act out a debate in naval tactics that had been brewing fo...

Episode 2.75: The Rump and the Army

02 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

1651-2As England prepares for a Dutch war, factions within the Commonwealth find that they have enemies at home.

Episode 2.74: The Key of Wealth

25 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

1652Desperate to match the modernizing credit economy of the Dutch, the Commonwealth turns to a been enthusiast, an impoverished inventor, and England...

Episode 2.73: The End of a Friendship

18 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

1651-1652After decades of close co-operation, the Anglo-Dutch relationship falls apart due to heated economic competition.

Episode 2.72: Barbados

11 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

1651Having pacified Scotland and Ireland, the Commonwealth regime looks to secure one last component of the old Stuart realms - the New World colonies...

Episode 2.71: Tied to Impossibilities

04 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

1651Amid the soul searching after their defeat at Worcester, the royalists re-assess the philosophical underpinnings of their cause.

Episode 2.70: The Tories

28 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

1650-1As Henry Ireton seeks to impose Commonwealth rule on Ireland, he finds his work obstructed by a persistent guerilla campaign.

Episode 2.69: A Bell, a Bib, and a Rattle

21 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

1651When the Scots and Charles find themselves unable to defend Scotland, they turn the tables on Oliver Cromwell, and invade England.

Episode 2.68: The Commonwealth Navy

14 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

1649-50In an effort to project the Commonwealth's military and economic power beyond the British Isles, the New Merchant faction re-organizes the navy...

Episode 2.67: Almost a Miracle

07 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Summer 1650Oliver Cromwell marches north to Scotland - and into a well laid trap.

Episode 2.66: The Exile King

31 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

1649-1650Charles II attempts to balance his desire for revenge on the men who killed his father, and the need to build allies in Europe.

Episode 2.65: I Do Declare and Promise

24 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

1650The Commonwealth government searches for the words to define itself, and at the same time, bind the people of England to its rule.

Episode 2.64: The Propagation of the Gospel in Wales

17 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

1650A divided Commonwealth government institutes a pilot program in Wales that will determine the future of religion in England.

Episode 2.63: A Concentrated Assault on Sin

10 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

1649-50While Cromwell continues his campaign in Ireland, Scotland veers from theocracy to reconciliation with the Stuart monarchy.

Episode 2.62: Hatred and Horror

03 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Summer/Fall 1649Oliver Cromwell takes the New Model Army into Ireland, where it faces a renewed coalition of royalist forces.

Episode 2.61: England's New Chains Discovered

26 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Spring 1649Fearing that they have merely traded one tyranny for another, the Levellers rise up to overthrow the infant Rump regime.

Episode 2.60: Triumphant by Default

19 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Winter 1649The men who executed the King struggled to define the new political world they've created.

Episode 2.59: This Honourable City

12 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

1649London adapts to being the centre of a merchant republic with global ambitions.

Episode 2.58: Interlopers

05 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

1649The new masters of London re-organize England's system of international trade, with their eyes firmly set on the East India Company.

Episode 2.57: The Plundering Time

29 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

1633-1649The Calvert family founds the experimental colony of Maryland, but soon find their efforts undermined by the chaos of war.

Episode 2.56: America and the Civil War

22 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

1642-1649With trans-Atlantic ties disrupted by war, the American colonies are forced to grow up quickly.

Episode 2.55: The Peace of Westphalia

15 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

1643-1648Decades of conflict come to an end in Europe, presenting post-monarchical England with a brand new geo-political landscape.

Episode 2.54: The Legacy of War

08 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

1649After a decade of conflict, England finds itself a changed nation on a new trajectory into the 1650s.

Episode 2.53: A Martyr to the People

01 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

January 1649The King is put on trial. His life, and the future of England, hang in the balance.

Episode 2.52: The High Court of Justice

24 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

December 1648A heavily purged parliament ends two and a half years of stalemate by putting the King on trial for his life.

Episode 2.51: The Purge

17 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

December 1648Frustrated with parliament's continued negotiations with the King, a group of army officers engineers a coup to seize control of Westmins...

Episode 2.50: The Mock Treaty

10 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Fall 1648With England once again secure, parliament returns to that has plagued English politics for two and a half years - what to do with the King?

Episode 2.49: Private Hostilities

03 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

1647-1648As the rest of the British Engager project falls apart, Ireland once again devolves into a new set of factions and alliances of convenience.

Episode 2.48: A Warwick

27 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

1648Mutinies at the main navy dockyard in Chatham threaten to give royalist exiles a ticket back to England.

Episode 2.47: Colchester and the Whiggamores

20 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Summer 1648After the defeat at the battle of Preston, the Engager government in Scotland is challenged by insurrection. Meanwhile the royalists at Co...

Episode 2.46: The Scottish Invasion

13 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Summer 1648The centre-piece of the Engager campaign, a long delayed Scottish incursion, begins. The New Model Army rushes north to meet the invaders.

Episode 2.45: We Long to See Our King

06 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Spring 1648After weeks of unrest, organized, armed opposition to the regime at Westminster erupts in the form of an army mutiny in Wales, and royalist...

Episode 2.44: The Great Blow

27 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Spring 1648Protests break out across England against the regime's religious policies, taxation, and intrusion into local affairs. The disturbances in...

Episode 2.43: The Engagement

20 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

December 1647While the army contemplates an increasingly radical settlement, the King turns to last remaining option - the Scots.

Episode 2.42: United in Our Doing

13 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Fall 1647Now firmly in control of the kingdom, the army coalition debates what its goals are - revealing its fundamental divisions.

Episode 2.41: No Mere Mercenary Army

06 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Summer 1647The long awaited storm finally breaks as both the Independents and the Presbyterians provoke each other into open conflict.

Episode 2.40: The Agitators

30 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Spring 1647Alarmed by the consolidation of Presbyterian power in London and parliament, a coalition emerges in the army between Independents, politica...

Episode 2.39: Free-Born Englishmen

23 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Spring 1647Unable to find a voice under the repressive Presbyterian regime in London, a group of dissidents turn in a truly revolutionary direction.

Episode 2.38: The Presbyterian Regime

16 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

1646-7In preparation for a conflict with the Independents in the New Model Army, the Presbyterians consolidate their control over London's government,...

Episode 2.37: The Semblance of a Conquest

09 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

1645-1646The end of the war in England causes a re-alignment of factions in Ireland that (if anything) make the conflict more complicated and intracta...

Episode 2.36: Hissed at by All Nations

02 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

1646The Scots begin to regret hosting their royal guest and look to pass off the stubborn king on to the English parliament.

Episode 2.35: Men Must Differ

26 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

1646The Presbyterian-controlled government of London does its best to suppress the Independent churches of the city, in preparation for the coming con...

Episode 2.34: Unrest in the Provinces

19 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

1646The people of England await a return to pre-war normalcy, but find that the kingdom's institutions have been irreversibly changed by the conflict.

Episode 2.33: Surrender

12 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

1646Charles finally accepts reality, and gives up the fight. But in ending the war, the King manages to initiate new rounds of political conflict wit...

Episode 2.32: The Irish Option

05 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

1645-1646The Kilkenny Confederation contemplates a series of offers from an increasingly desperate King Charles. But continental Catholics powers hav...

Episode 2.31: Love Loyalty

28 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

1645-1646In the southwest of England, a collection of royalists desperately hold out hope that reinforcements from Ireland might swing the balance of ...

Episode 2.30: Clan Warfare

21 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

1644-1645A rag-tag group of Scottish Highlanders and Irish warriors threaten to bring down the Covenantor government and turn the tide of the war.

Episode 2.29: Our National Quarrel

14 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Summer 1645In desperate need of help, King Charles turns to his most consistently loyal subjects - the Welsh. But he finds that loyalty can wither, w...

Episode 2.28: The Clubmen

07 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Summer 1645The farmers of the West Country have had enough of the fighting, and declare war on the war.

Episode 2.27: Naseby

31 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Spring 1645The King hopes to continue his recent run of successes against parliament's latest experiment - the New Model Army

Episode 2.26: The New Model Army

24 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Winter 1645In order to break the deadlock over the Self-Denying Ordnance, parliament embarks on a comprehensive reform of the army.

Episode 2.25: Backwardness in All Actions

17 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Winter 1644/1645Parliament's feuding generals lay down their arms for the winter, and sharpen their blades for a political knife fight.

Episode 2.24: Second Newbury

10 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Fall 1644An all-star team of parliamentary generals confront the King in battle, but spend most of their time bickering with one another.

Episode 2.23: Chaplain to the Worms

03 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

1643/1644As parliament struggles to build a replacement to William Laud's anti-Calvinist church, disorder and uncertainty spreads through the parishes...

Episode 2.22: Dirty and Dejected

26 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Summer 1644With the royalist position in the north collapsing at Marston Moor, Charles fights for his life in the south.

Episode 2.21: Marston Moor

19 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

1644Prince Rupert goes on the march to save the beleaguered royalist army of the North. At Marston Moor he meets a joint Anglo-Scottish army for the ...

Episode 2.20: A British War

12 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

1643/1644New soldiers enter England from Ireland and Scotland, changing the course, and nature, of the war.

Episode 2.19: The Court in Winter

05 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

1643/1644Oxford is transformed from a sleepy university town into a royal court full of factional infighting.

Episode 2.18: The Hostmen

29 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

1643/1644London spends a winter without coal from royalist-controlled Newcastle.

Episode 2.17: Presbyterians and Independents

22 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

1643-44With the Scottish alliance providing added pressure, parliament finally divides into two factions on the religious question.

Episode 2.16: Combustions and Burnings

15 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

1630-1643The limits of religious freedom are tested in the New England colonies. 380 years later a podcaster repeatedly fails to pronounce "Massachus...

Episode 2.15: The Solemn Oath and Covenant

08 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

1643Parliament seeks an alliance with the Covenantor Scots, and in doing so, is forced into an uncomfortable clarification of its religious policy.

Episode 2.14: The Cessation

01 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

1643In order to free up soldiers for the war in England, Charles orders the Marquis of Ormond (the commander of the government forces in Ireland) to n...

Episode 2.13: The Lord of the Fens

25 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Summer 1643In East Anglia, a local gentleman named Oliver Cromwell emerges as one of parliament's leading commanders.

Episode 2.12: Gloucester

18 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Summer 1643The royalists look to cap off a successful campaigning season by capturing Gloucester, the last parliamentary garrison blocking the entranc...